Testimonies

MY REAL LIFE STORY {BY STACEY LOMAS}My name is Stacey & I have been saved for 9 months. My early childhood was a tough time. I grew up in a family where I was physically abused by both parents as well as my brother. I would often get dragged around by my hair and punched in the head. Sometimes it was so severe that my school teachers would see me covered in bruises and I would make up excuses because I didn’t want people to know. My parents told me they hated me and didn’t want me because I didn’t have a disability which would have helped them claim more benefits.

When I was 9 years old my Uncle started sexually abusing me for 2 years. When my parents out found out, they blamed me, calling me every name under the sun. When I was age 12, we moved back to Preston. As I was getting older I thought the abuse would stop, but it continued, only this time I spent all of my time in my room as my family couldn’t stand the sight of me. It felt as if everything was building up to this one particular day. On this day, one thing happened after another. I was beaten up by my parents and my brother followed their lead and started throwing darts at my knees. I remember going to the bathroom crying, thinking of ways to commit suicide. At that point, my brother walked into the bathroom, pinned me to the floor and started raping me. I cried out aloud for help and my mother came in and saw what was happening, but left as if she hadn’t seen anything. I thought life couldn’t get any worse but I was wrong.

Soon after this experience, things changed and I went to live with my disabled nan. I loved living with her as I knew for the first time in my life I was safe. As the pieces were starting to come back together my life was shattered when my nan died. She told me never to go back to my family. Feeling scared, lost and lonely I ran away and hid at Preston docks and hoped no one would find me. The police found me and I was taken to live with some relatives. But my parents came to visit them and they forced me to return home and the abuse started all over again.

The day I turned 16 I left home and never returned. Social Services put me in a women’s refuge in Burnley. By now I was self-harming, drinking and fighting. I got pregnant and miscarried. I was sleeping around, taking drugs and drinking every night. When I was 18, I met Amelia’s father. One day I came across a medical card that stated he was Hepatitis B positive. At that time I found out I was pregnant and I miscarried again. The doctors told me I was lucky not to have Hepatitis B as my body was too weak to fight off the illness. I found my boyfriend taking Heroin in my bathroom and he started becoming violent towards me.

I was 21 years old when I became pregnant again by him but this time I made sure I kept the baby as I was convinced it would help him change but he didn’t. I became pregnant again with my second child (Amelia). Social Services got involved when he started being violent again and I left, taking Amelia with me to a refuge in Pendle. The council wanted to take my baby from me. Court hearings soon started and not long after the judge decided that it would be best for Amelia to stay in my care. At this point I knew there was someone out there looking out for me, because I couldn’t explain what had happened.

One day a friend invited me to the Potter House church and I instinctively knew something was different. I never had a church upbringing, I knew nothing of God yet something was pulling on my heart. Pastor gave a call, asking if anyone wanted to accept Jesus and I raised my hand and gave my life to Jesus. I came in carrying the weight of my past but by the time I had left that service the weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I got baptised in water and then got filled with the Holy Spirit, I can remember speaking in tongues for the first time! I don’t know what love is and here was someone I didn’t know, showing me the greatest symbol of love that I could have ever known – Jesus dying on the cross for me. I’ve never had a family that loved me but now I have Gods amazing family.

Since getting saved I feel so happy, free & delivered. I am loved & accepted. Since I got saved, I can joyfully say, I haven’t self-harmed, pastor prayed for Amelia and she got healed from Asthma, I started my education & passed my exams, my friend Olivia came to church gave her life to Jesus then we got baptised together and today I moved into my first new house! Jesus has done so much for me. If Jesus can do it for me he can do it for you. He makes all things new.

Why not get in touch we can help you find the hope & healing you need in JESUS NAME. If you want what Stacey has, pray the prayer below & give us a call!

MY REAL LIFE STORY {BY YVONNE HALL}
I was born and brought up in Preston. I had a loving home and decent upbringing. When i was around 11 years old my parents divorced. As a child i didn’t understand the breakup of my family, and became rebellious in school, i faced bullying issues and found comfort being around people who were older than me. By 13 i was in my first sexual relationship, and by 14 i was with a second partner. I had begun to smoke weed on a daily basis. I liked fitting in, before i was 16 i had dabbled with taking vallium, methadone, LSD, drinking and had become a full heroin addict. My family had found out by this stage and were heartbroken. I lied about how severe my problems were. My GCSE’s suffered as a result, i spent my time either being doped up on morphine or detoxing from morphine and in pain. By 17 my family couldn’t deal with my behaviour and i was kicked out of home. I left with my boyfriend and things spiralled more out of control. We were homeless and were shoplifting to make money for heroin. Being arrested and sleeping wherever we could were part and parcel of our everyday lives. Before i was 20 i had been in rehab 4 times, sometimes walking out after a couple of days as the pain was so great.

At 21 my family took me across the world on a holiday, thinking it would take me away from my lifestyle and do me some good, i was still on a methadone prescription and dabbled on holiday with speed, i slept around, even though i had a partner in the UK. From the day i returned home i was using heroin and crack cocaine, 4 months later i found out i was pregnant. My drug habits were too big to stop and too dangerous for my baby, detox was too dangerous. When my child was born i had an emergency section and we were both lucky to be alive. For the next 5 weeks i watched my baby detox and have fits. Heartbroken doesn’t even describe the guilt i felt. The shame was so heavy that only more Heroin would numb my pain. I couldn’t deal with the grief of what i had done. I finally left hospital and to the outside world i functioned as a mother. My child was well and my family assumed i had recovered and was managing. The reality was the drug use behind closed doors was chaotic, and my whole life and the mask i wore was a lie. The heroin use continued on top of my methadone prescription and any other painkillers that were available. Before i was 25 i had a miscarriage and almost died. At 26 i had my second child, when i brought him home from hospital i thought he was ok and had managed to escape the affects of my drug use.

I was relieved, At 5 months old my baby was diagnosed with a rare condition which resulted in severe brain abnormalities, blindness, autism, behavioural issues and learning difficulties. As i sat with my baby in my arms and tears rolling down my face, i remember asking the doctors if his medical issues were a result of my drug use. I was told that they couldn’t say for definite but there faces said it all. Anti-depressants didn’t help, heroin didn’t help, i was dead inside and was just about functioning. I was under weight and my days were spent either detoxing in pain or taking drugs to feel normal.

Then one night as i fell asleep i had a dream that has changed my whole life, I was cowering against a door and could hear the most petrifying noises. Dogs were howling and i knew that whatever it was, was coming for me. I heard my name being called by the most seductive sickening voice ever, i hadn’t ever felt fear like that before. As i peered around the door i saw a demon looking at me. I was screaming so loud for Jesus to help me. I have not had a Christian upbringing and had only ever stepped in a church for a wedding or funeral. As i began shouting for Jesus to help help me the horrific noises and things i saw stopped and i heard the loudest voice ever say to me “Yvonne! This is your last chance!” Then i woke up. The morning after i remembered everything so vividly and i knew that i had heard Satan and had heard God say that it was my last chance. As i sat smoking heroin i felt a huge conviction, i knew God could see me and had seen everything i had ever done. That night i fell to my knees on my bedroom floor and sobbed for hours, i confessed my whole life that night and begged God to forgive me, i actually looked up how to apologise to God on Google as i had no knowledge of how to do this. I must have read numerous salvation prayers.

I couldn’t use Heroin again but was still on a large methadone prescription, i started attending my local church, i was given my first ever bible by an elder, the first night i started reading it and enjoyed learning about God. The morning after i woke up and was pinned to my bed i couldn’t move and wondered what was happening, now i realise it was a demonic attack. I reduced my methadone and starded a home detox, for almost 6 weeks i was in pain i couldn’t sleep and could barely move some days. I had two more significant dreams during this time one where i was crouched at Jesus feet in white saying sorry over and over and i was asking him how long the pain would last. He assured me not long and i saw him lifting dark figures from me as i crouched on the floor. The second one was me walking down a corridor with doors on either side with demons locked behind the doors they were trying to get to me but chains were keeping the doors closed and Jesus was standing at the end of the corridor with his arms open, his face was just pure light, he was holding the ends of the chains. He said to me “Dont look, keep your eyes on me and you will be okay”. As i approached Jesus i woke up. I’ve had lots of dreams of being attacked, threatened and choked. But i remind myself that Jesus is bigger and greater than all the demons of hell put together!

Over the next few months for the first time in over 20 years i was Heroin free, methadone free. I gave up smoking weed and cigarettes. I ended my 18 year relationship that had been drug fuelled, and began talking to God. What i couldn’t do, my parents couldn’t do, drug services couldn’t do, my children couldn’t, do Jesus Christ did in one night! Over the next 9 months i still felt the depression within me, i didn’t know who i was without all the morphine. I saw amazing works of God on TV which lifted my faith and started praying for God to put me in a church where people raised hands and prayed in tongues and for Christian friends. I never saw anyone outside of the church i was attending. Within a short space of time i received a leaflet through my door for Potters House Church in Preston, i realised it was around 5 miles away from my home so just disregarded it. A few weeks later I was in Preston town centre and was given the same leaflet for the same church. So this time i took it as an answered prayer, i went home and rang the pastor. In that one phone call i revealed most of my life, i was comforted and told that i wasn’t going mad and that he believed me and my experience. I felt relieved and visited The Potters House the next day for service. I’d never seen a prayer room or so many friendly people in my life, it was also comforting to hear that other people had been through some similar experiences as me. Over the next couple of months i told my testimony in church was baptised was water and filled with the holy spirit, ill never forget driving home after service and speaking in tongues at the top of my voice!

Jesus offers forgiveness no matter what you have done, from the smallest to the greatest of sin. We have all fallen short and have all sinned against him, but if we just confess our sins, repent and ask God to forgive us and ask him to come into our lives then he will. I would never of had the strength to do what i have done, but Jesus has the strength to overcome all your issues. I will be eternally grateful to Jesus for showing me the mercy i did not deserve and now i just want to give my whole heart and life to him.

Jesus can do the same for you. Why not get in touch we can help you find the freedom & deliverance you need in JESUS NAME.